Crossover Special
by GAKDragonMCP
Summary: Tonight at 8/7 central on Fox... Here is my take on the undisclosed meeting between Buffy and Angel after "Carpe Nostrum" and "Flooded"


Crossover Special

A few minutes after sunset, a bus passes a sign that reads, "Leaving Sunnydale." Following the bus on the two-lane highway is an SUV. The driver, a blond woman, rests her head against her arm, propped up in the open windowsill.

Her right hand is clenched around the steering wheel. On her third finger is a silver Irish Claddagh ring. She is wearing blue jeans, a black leather jacket, and a cream shirt.

* * *

Angel sits on a park bench an hour later. It's darker out, with the last rays of twilight swallowed by the cover of night. His boots are scuffed and worn, but the black leather is suitable for his casual attire.

He's wearing black jeans and a long black coat, and in his right hand, he holds an old, hand-bound copy of Keats' poems, turning pages with his left. His Claddagh ring is on the middle finger of his right hand.

He pulls up a sleeve and looks at a watch on his left wrist, then begins reading again.

His cellphone rings. He marks his place and sets the book aside. He grabs his phone out of his coat and flips it on.

"Yeah?" He listens for a moment, then responds in exasperation, "No, Cordy. She's not here yet. Stop calling me," he orders her teasingly.

He turns off the phone and puts it away in his coat pocket. Taking a glance up the street, he picks up the book and resumes reading.

He turns a page. From up the street, the sound of a diesel engine can be heard. Angel looks up from the book in the direction of the sound. Marking his place again, he slides it back in his coat. He stands up and waits by the curb as the bus pulls to a stop across the street.

Ten people get off the bus before the SUV pulls into the bus depot lot and parks. Buffy gets out of the car, searching the crowd. Suddenly, she turns and stares directly at Angel. He waves. She gives him a small little smile.

She looks down the street, then up, waiting for two cars to pass in front of her. She crosses the street and stands in front of Angel. "Hi."

"Hey."

* * *

Angel jerks to action, as if making a decision. He gives Buffy a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug. "I missed you. Are you feeling okay?"

Buffy smiles weakly. "Yeah. It's… hard."

"I know what you mean." He takes her hand and walks to the bench. "Vision all fuzzy, hearing shot. Everything is bright light and echoes."

Buffy looks at him, startled. "How did you… Oh. Acathla was like that? I mean, coming back?"

Angel nods. "I couldn't see anything clearly. All I could see were colors. I couldn't hear anything but heartbeats. And the smells… It's like being bombarded with food when you're starving. You don't know what to do, where to turn."

They walk up the street in silence for a time, before Buffy states, "I feel so lost. I've never felt this way, not even when you…"

Angel frowns. "When I was Angelus."

"Yeah," Buffy confirms quietly. "This is different."

"I can guess. What was it like, for you? Heaven, I mean, not dying. All I can remember from the time that Darla bit me until the time I found myself outside that Gypsy camp is fuzzy gray clouds. Or maybe a blanket?"

Buffy stops. "How did you know where I was?"

Angel stops and turns to face her. "Oh, come on. You sacrifice your life – your second chance, I might add – to save the world and you're going to Hell for that?"

Her eyes are shining. "My friends… they thought…"

She bursts into tears. Angel cradles her against his chest. "Shh." He strokes her hair. "They thought you were in Hell?"

She nods, sniffling.

"I'm so sorry."

"I was happy, and safe. My friends were safe; Dawnie was safe."

"And now you've got to move on from that." He has a faraway look in his eyes, as if reliving a painful memory.

"I can't do it. I can't look them in the face, knowing I was so happy, and they took that from me. They tore me away from there."

Angel's eyes are shut tight. He's crying silently into her hair. He pulls Buffy's head to his shoulder and holds her, for a long while.

Finally, he kisses her temple and digs in his pocket. He pulls out a handkerchief and hands it to her. He turns away from her and dries his eyes, as Buffy uses the handkerchief.

Buffy hands it back to him. "Thanks."

He turns back and puts it in a pocket. "Are you hungry? There's a coffee shop up this way. Or we could take a walk in the park, if you want to wait."

Buffy takes his hand again and leans her head on his shoulder. "Can we go to the park? I don't feel like eating."

He lets go of her hand to put his arm around her shoulders. As they stroll through the park, she slides her arm around his back.

"So how are Cordy and Wesley doing?"

"Wolfram & Hart hired someone to tap into Cordy's visions. She was in a lot of pain there, for a little bit."

"Oh, no. Is she okay?"

"She is now. I told them what would happen if they ever came at me through Cordy again."

Buffy smiles. "I can imagine. It's so much fun when you do your knight in shining armor thing."

Angel smiles down at her. "I thought you hated it when I got all noble."

Buffy swats him on the arm. "That's when you're noble with me. Cordy doesn't have superpowers."

"How are they working, but the way?"

"Dunno. I haven't tried them since-"

"Since you got back."

He stops. Buffy turns and looks up at him. "Yeah."

Angel takes her hands in his and holds them in front of him. "God, Buffy, I missed you so much. It was so hard, trying to-" He breaks off, swallowing over a lump in his throat. He caresses her cheek. She covers his hand with her own. "When I saw Willow, just sitting there, I felt awful. And when she told me that you… that you were… I felt like I'd just been staked. God, I thought I'd lost you forever."

Tears are streaming down Buffy's face. Angel reaches around and pulls her close. She reaches up and caresses his chin. "You'll never lose me, Angel. I'll always be with you. I belong to you." She shows him her Claddagh ring. "Forever."

"Buffy, I-" He runs a hand through her hair. "I love you so much."

"I love you, Angel." She pulls his head down, kissing him passionately.

Angel whispers between kisses, "Let's go somewhere a little more private."

Buffy whimpers and kisses him again. She says softly, "Take me wherever you want."

Angel kisses her quickly and walks with her to a thick grove of trees. He backs her against a sturdy trunk and kisses her softly. They make out for several minutes.

A figure darts from tree to tree. They stop kissing and look into the distance.

"Did you hear that?" Buffy asked.

There are a few minutes of silence, then a rustling sound. Angel and Buffy look to the right. Angel remarks, "I know I heard that."

They break apart and head in the direction of the sound. Angel pulls a stake from his pocket, while Buffy pulls a crossbow from her bag.

"Nice. Just don't shoot me with that thing."

"Don't worry," Buffy reassures.

They walk slowly along the path. Suddenly, Angel points. "There!" Buffy aims in the direction of his arm. "Wait for it."

Buffy lines up a shot. She pulls the trigger. The vamp ducks, the arrow hitting a tree behind him.

Angel runs after the vamp while Buffy reloads. She hurries after them.

Angel tackles the vamp. They roll over, and Angel springs up. He punches the vamp in the face and dodges a kick. The vamp falls back and grabs a large branch off a tree. He swings it. Angel pushes it away from his face but it hits him in the side. He grunts and doubles over. The vamp runs but Angel grabs his foot and yanks him to the ground. Angel punches him in the stomach three times.

Buffy runs up and shouts, "Angel, move!" She aims the crossbow and pulls the trigger as Angel rolls to the side. The bolt catches the vamp in the chest. He turns to dust.

Buffy puts away the crossbow. Angel stands, dusting himself off. He holds his side and winces.

"You're hurt." She moves closer and begins to examine Angel.

"I'll heal." He tries to pull away.

"Don't be such a baby. Let me see." He sighs and lets her push up his shirt. "It's not too bad. I'll bandage it up and you'll be as good as new."

"Thanks."

She grabs some bandages from her bag and applies them to Angel's left side. Buffy looks up at Angel and flattens the bandage, her fingers lingering on his skin. She pulls his shirt down and stands up.

Angel smiles. "Well, your reflexes still work." He pulls her close and kisses the top of her head. Smelling her hair, he frowns. "Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you're not sick or anything, right?"

"No, I'm fit as a fiddle. Why?"

Angel stares at her intently. "Something just doesn't smell right." He grabs her by the shoulders. "Don't freak, I'm going to try something."

"Okay," she says nervously.

He lets his vampire features show and leans in to place a kiss on her neck. Angel licks her skin. Buffy shivers and sighs. Then he sniffs her skin. Frowning, he pulls back.

"What is it?" asks Buffy.

"I don't know. For a minute, I thought I smelled something off."

"Oh. What time is it?"

Angel looks at his watch and answers, "7:20."

"I promised Dawn I'd be home by 10. I should probably get back."

"Sure." He puts his arm around her should as they walk back through the park. "Listen, Buffy, if you ever – I mean, if it gets to be too much, being around them, you're always welcome at the hotel."

"Thanks. It's nice to know I have somewhere I can go."

"Drop by anytime. Wait; don't come by the week after Thanksgiving."

"You're not still thinking about that, are you?"

"Every night," he said softly.

Buffy didn't hear him, for she said at the same time, "'Cuz I forgive you for not saying hi. I forgave you a long time ago."

Angel moves a little away from her. "Buffy, please don't."

Buffy frowns as they stop. "Don't what?"

"Please, let's just-"

"Forget?"

Angel turns away, tears in his eyes. "Say goodbye."

"I didn't know those words were in your vocabulary. You didn't say them after graduation."

Angel turns back around. "Buffy, please. I couldn't say goodbye. I didn't want to leave, but I knew I had to. If I had spoken to you, you would have convinced me to stay."

"I would have tried."

"It would have been wrong. For both of us." He takes her in his arms, holding her close despite her half-hearted attempts to get away from him. "Maybe one day we can be together. Forever, just like we always dreamed." He pulls her head under his chin. "But until I can control Angelus completely, I can't be around you." He runs his fingers through her hair. "I can't let him hurt you. I love you too much for that. No matter what happens, either in LA or Sunnydale, always know that I love you."

Buffy is crying and pulls her head up. "I love you, Angel. Riley was just-"

Angel puts his finger to her lips. "Shh. You needed him. I'm so sorry that he hurt you. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you. Know that my love for you hasn't changed."

"I'll always love you, Angel. Forever."

"I know." He kisses her deeply. "You have to go, Dawn-"

"I'll try not to die without giving you a head's up." He chuckles weakly. "Good-bye."

"So long." He watches as she leaves the park.

Buffy walks away, crying. She adjusts her bag and hurries up the street. Angel slowly walks out of the park. As Buffy climbs into her mom's old car, a black convertible passes. It beeps its horn twice, and Angel waves from behind the wheel. Buffy smiles and waves back, then turns the key in the ignition.

* * *

 _Author's note: This is the original draft of this fic (version 1.0), adjusted to remove the screenplay format (since that format goes against the rules). When it was finally uploaded to the site as a stand-alone fic (version 2.0), there was a section after their vampire skirmish where Buffy and Angel go to a diner/restaurant and she has something to eat. During dinner, the song_ "One More Time" _by Kenny G and featuring Chanté Moore would come over the radio and Buffy & Angel would dance to it. The lyrics really echo the longing and wistfulness of their relationship, which is why I wrote them into my story. That is also a no-no for this site. _

_I then tweaked the stand-alone fic, having decided that it would fit right alongside the other stories in my_ _Phone Calls series_ _. Version 2.5 had characterizations that fit more with that universe than it did in the Whedonverse._

 _Now, having re-typed this story in preparation for re-posting it, I've realized that version 1.0_ _does_ _stand up on its own, and fits fairly close to Canon. If you want the sappier, more lovey-dovey version 2.5 with even MORE displays of affection, then Chapter 10 of_ _Phone Calls_ _is for you._


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